Not the One to Blame
by Stay Country
Summary: Steve's happy with her. He loves her. He wants to be with her forever. Everything about her is perfect. Things don't stay perfect in Tulsa, though, and all good things must come to an end. One-Shot.


**A/N: Evie/Steve one-shot. Because I love Evie and Steve.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**The Outsiders**_** or It's Not Over by Secondhand Serenade.**

* * *

_Tears run down like razorblades, and no, I'm not the one to blame. It's you…Or is it me? And all the words we never said, come out and now we're all ashamed and there's no sense in playing games, when you've done all you can do._

The first time he laid eyes on her he thought he was going to stop breathing. He had been on plenty of blind double dates with Soda, but none of the girls looked like her. Not one.

He had to stop himself from stumbling forward and making a complete fool of himself. He had to take slow breaths to stop himself from saying something stupid that he was sure to regret later.

He remembered the day he had met her and what they had said and how she laughed at him, even though he really wasn't that funny of a guy. He remembered the way she smelled like strawberries. She always smelled like strawberries.

They had been fifteen and if Steve had ever doubted love at first sight he no longer did. There was something about her, her long black hair and her red lips.

She was absolutely the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. She was perfect.

He wanted her.

* * *

_Slap. _"You asshole!"

There first real fight came a month or so after they started dating.

Evie was fuming and Steve was clueless. She had approached him at the DX with one of her friends, her face red. Not a word was spoken before her hand had come flying forward, making contact with Steve's face.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed, giving her a glare. "What the fuck did you do that for?"

She had tears in her eyes. Steve could see them, but he had no clue where they had come from. He also had no clue what could have possessed her to hit him.

She pointed a finger at him. "You know _exactly _why, you fuckin' prick!"

A costumer walked into the DX, but Evie didn't seem to care. Steve was trying hard not to throttle her. He had learned pretty early in their relationship that Evie was crazy. She yelled and cried when any one of her emotions went into overdrive. A lot of times you couldn't be sure of what she was feeling.

Well, at the moment he could tell she was pissed.

"Actually, I don't got a clue. Care to enlighten me?"

She growled. "I hate you right now, Steve Randal! I can't believe you!"

Steve rolled his eyes. "You better tell me what it is that I did. Or else I'm gonna leave you out here cryin' all by yourself."

Evie's anger rose for a moment, but at the thought of Steve not caring it started to die. She slumped a little and looked away, crossing her arms.

"I saw you dancin' with Anna Conrad," she said softly.

Steve looked at her funny. "So?"

Evie looked bewildered. "_So_?" Anger started to resurface.

Before he knew what had hit him, Evie slapped him once more before storming out.

* * *

The first time they had sex Evie had cried.

Steve didn't get it. He didn't understand. It wasn't bad. It wasn't perfect or anything like some people made it out to be, but every second that they had been going he was continuing to fall even more madly in love with her.

It was perfect to him. She was perfect to him- the way her hair smelled like strawberries as it fell softly over her shoulders and the way her red lips had collided with his only moments before.

They were sixteen. They both agreed. They'd been together a year. It was time.

Steve had cupped her face in his hand, but she pulled away and covered herself with the sheet. She was still crying softly.

Steve wasn't a sensitive guy. He didn't deal with tears. He had two older brothers. He wasn't used to the crying thing.

He placed a careful hand on her back. "Evie, what's wrong?" he whispered. "It was great." An idea finally rose in his mind. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, Ev."

She shook her head. "No…No. It's not that- I just…"

Steve felt himself move closer to her. "You just what?"

She sighed a little and he heard her sniffle. She turned to look at him and their faces were right in front of one another. "That was my first time," she conceded softly.

Her voice was perfect.

Steve lay there for a moment, watching her. He finally nodded understandingly.

"Mine, too."

* * *

"I'm scared," Evie mumbled to him as he led her up the steps of his house.

He looked over at her with a funny look on his face. He laughed. "Why?"

"It's your family," she said slowly. "They're gonna hate me. Everyone hates me."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Stop bein' a drama queen, Ev. Nobody hates you." She glared at him, but he continued. " 'Sides, the only one worth bein' scared of is my dad and he ain't even gonna be here."

Evie let out a breath. "But you got brothers. Your brothers are gonna hate me."

Steve chuckled. "You really think I give a fuck what my brothers think of anyone? They're both pussies."

Evie smiled slightly. "I'm still scared," she muttered.

Steve went to open the door but stopped. He grabbed Evie's hand and gave her a knowing look.

"Evie, I promise you. They will love you. And if they don't, who cares? I love ya', don't I? Ain't I enough?"

Evie gave him a slightly bigger smile and nodded. "Yeah, you're enough." She kissed him quickly on the lips. "One thing, though."

"Yeah?" Steve asked as they made their way in.

"Next time we're goin' to my house."

* * *

"Just follow me, Evie. I promise you'll like it," Steve said to her as he hopped out of his truck. He laughed at the grimace on her face as she looked at the muddy ground around her feet.

"I dunno, Stevie," she muttered, using the nickname he had grown to hate. She shook her head slowly. "I don't wanna get all muddy. My ma will have a cow if I come home lookin' like I fell in shit."

Steve laughed. "You get real prissy sometimes, ya' know that? What, are ya' turnin' into a soc or somethin'?"

Evie's lips threated to curl into a smile but she pushed away the feeling and glared jokingly. "You shut your mouth, Steve Randal. I've never heard such nonsense in my life."

"Yeah, yeah. Just c'mon."

Evie sighed slightly as she looked at the mud once more, but followed obligingly. As she walked a few feet behind Steve, she tried her hardest to avoid the muddy ground. After a few minutes of struggling to find safe spots to walk, she looked up.

"Can't you just carry me, Stevie?"

Steve turned around, giving her an incredulous look. "What? No, you're gonna ruin it. Just c'mon." He motioned for her to follow. "And stop callin' me Stevie. You know I hate that God damned name."

Evie smirked. "And that's exactly why I call you it."

Steve did not turn around, but Evie knew he was scowling.

After a few more minutes of the antagonizing journey, Evie saw Steve stop.

"What the hell?" she mumbled quietly.

She made her way up beside Steve and looked up.

"Okay, let's go," Steve said, starting to walk towards the object in front of them.

Evie felt her eyes go wide as she quickly shook her head, wondering what the hell her boyfriend could be thinking. She ran up quickly so that she was beside him before grabbing his arm.

"We aren't going up there, are we?" she asked quickly.

Steve stopped and looked at her. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, we are."

Evie shook her head. "Uh-uh, no way. I'm not." She looked up at the object before giving Steve a look. "I hate heights."

Steve rolled his eyes. "For God's sake, Ev. It's a water tower."

"Water towers are _high_, Steve. That's why I'm not going."

Steve stood there, staring at her for a minute as he contemplated what to do. Finally, he grabbed her arm and started to drag her along. Evie tried to pull back.

"Steve, _no!" _

"I promise you'll be fine. I ain't gonna let nothin' bad happen to ya'."

"How do you know? Stop dragging me! It's too high!"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Jesus, are you sure you're not high?"

Evie glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Steve pushed her in front of the ladder. "Go, I'll be right behind you."

Evie tried to move away, but Steve kept her trapped between himself and the ladder.

"Stevie, I don't want to," Evie whined in a pitiful voice. "I'm being serious."

"Yeah, so am I. Just go, Evie."

He could smell the strawberry scent wafting from her hair as the wind blew slightly. He watched as her fingers curled around the rails, her freshly painted nails easily seen even with the darkness of the night. She glanced back.

"What if I fall on you?"

Steve shrugged. "You'll have to thank me for saving your life, I guess. You'll have to wait a while, though, because I probably won't make it out alive."

Evie glared. "That's not funny."

Steve rolled his eyes. "_Go."_

Finally caving, Evie slowly climbed the ladder. She trembled the entire way up and she was adamant that the only reason she didn't fall was because she didn't want her boyfriend to die.

Once she reached the top, she scrambled as far away from the edge as possible. Steve came up over slowly, walked over to her and sat down.

"Open your eyes, Ev." He laughed quietly as she opened them up slowly.

At first she kept her eyes facing her hands, but slowly she looked up. She saw the sky as it was lit up with the stars and the full moon straight ahead of them. She could see all of Tulsa and looking closely she could see the movie being played at the drive in.

Her hand slowly went to cover her mouth. "Oh my God."

Steve nodded.

Evie looked over at him. "Steve…"

He smiled. "Happy anniversary, Ev."

* * *

Steve couldn't stop staring at her. It couldn't be true. There was no way in hell that it was true.

Evie wasn't pregnant.

She didn't look pregnant. She didn't act pregnant. She couldn't be.

"How?" he asked quietly.

Evie looked close to tears as she sat on his bed. She shrugged.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded and suddenly tears started to fall. She couldn't stop them.

Steve quickly moved and sat down next to her, holding her close. She was starting to sob. He didn't know what to do. Should he talk to one of his brothers? Would they even help? What about Soda? Soda usually knew how to help.

"I'm sorry, Steve," Evie suddenly sobbed.

Steve looked at her, confused. "What are you talking about?"

She shook her head. "This is all my fault."

"What?"

Evie motioned towards her stomach. "_This._" she motioned to her stomach as she continued to cry. "Is all my fault."

Steve shook his head. "Don't say that."

"It's true," she sobbed out.

Steve wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, staring at her intently. He could smell the strawberry scent in her hair as he pulled her close.

"How?" he questioned.

Evie sat there for a moment, letting tears fall down her face as she hiccupped. She was thinking, trying to come up with a reason to blame herself. Steve knew this.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

Steve nodded and pulled her into a full hug. "We'll figure this out, Ev."

Evie shook her head. "How?"

Steve looked down and sighed slightly. He ran fingers through her hair.

"I don't know."

* * *

"What's that?" Evie mumbled quietly to Steve. He held a small box in his hand. She looked at it curiously. "You gonna ask me to marry ya' just cuz' I got yer' kid inside me. I'm gonna say no. That's just a warning."

Steve looked at her carefully. Evie had been different ever since they found out she was pregnant. She didn't like to do fun stuff anymore and she was always afraid people would start to notice. Steve knew they wouldn't yet. She still hadn't gotten any bigger.

"Nah, it ain't a ring. I didn't even ask your daddy for his blessing."

Evie snorted a little. "Like you'd give a fuck whether he blessed it or not."

Steve shrugged. "It's only polite to ask."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "So what is it?"

Steve grinned at the tiny bit of happiness on her face. "Does it matter that much to ya'?"

Evie rolled her eyes. "_Stevie," _she whined, earning a glare from Steve. Her smiled widened. "Just show me."

Steve slowly opened the box to reveal a necklace. Evie stared at it, her hand covering her mouth. She looked up at him.

"Oh my God, Steve," she mumbled quietly as she took the box in her hand. "How much did this cost?"

Steve shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

She gave him a knowing look. "Steve…"

He shook his head once more. "Let me put in on you."

Evie handed him back the box and pulled her hair up. She watched as the necklace fell across her neck and shined. She held it in her hand once she turned around to look at him.

"Evie, I love you."

She leaned in and kissed his lips. "I love you, too."

* * *

"You did _what_?"

Steve thought his whole world had just crumbled underneath him. Evie had come waltzing in, glowing from something that seemed a lot like relief. He had not been ready for the news she had thrown at him. He could never have been ready.

"I said I took care of it."

He shook his head. "No, you didn't. You couldn't have- Evie." He stared at her for a moment. "What are you talking about?"

She didn't say anything. She was sitting down on his bed now. The same bed they had slept in their first time. The same bed she'd been crying on when she was pregnant. The same bed-

"It's not a big deal, Stevie." She didn't even believe her own words. He could tell. "It's over now. It's a good thing."

Steve shook his head. "Are you crazy?" He went and sat beside her. "It's not a good thing. It could never be a good thing."

"Steve, please don't make it a big deal-"

"It is a big deal!"

Evie's head snapped in his direction. "Why are you yelling at me?"

Steve dug his palms into his eye sockets. He really could not believe this. "Evie, I can't believe you are so God damn stupid," he muttered, more to himself than her. She still heard it, though, and she glared.

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, her anger flaming.

Steve didn't look at her. "Did you ever consider my opinion? Maybe what I thought?"

Evie stood up quickly, throwing her arms out. "Why the hell you it matter what _you thought_? This ain't your body. This ain't your future! It was _my _decision."

"Evie, I said we'd figure it out!"

She shook her head. "No, you know what? That's just downright stupid. What the hell could you have done? Huh?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fixed another car and then just forgotten about it? Because that's what you seem to know how to do best. Hide behind your God damn job!"

"It wasn't your fuckin' decision! Not fully, I mean. Jesus Christ, do you even know how fuckin' pissed I am right now, Evie?" He stood back up and stared hard. "This was the stupidest thing you've ever done. And there's a pretty fuckin' long list."

Evie stared at him as tears brimmed her eyes. "I fuckin' hate you. You're supposed to back me up."

"No, not with this shit. I ain't backin' you up with this shit." He shook his head. "That was my kid, too, Evie. Do you realize that?"

"I couldn't fuckin' keep it!" she screamed as the tears poured over. "I didn't have a choice!"

Suddenly, the knob to the door started to jiggle and the couple watched as Steve's oldest brother looked in. He stared at them, noticing Steve's red face and Evie's tear-stained cheeks.

"Is everything alright?"

Evie stared at him before looking at Steve. "I'll see you later." Her voice broke as she spoke and she wanted to curl up and die.

Steve watched her. "Yeah, well, maybe not."

Evie turned to leave and she didn't think she'd ever left that house so fast in her entire life.

* * *

"Maybe you guys should talk it over."

"No."

"Steve-"

"I said no, Soda. For fuck's sake, I don't wanna talk to her. I don't got a reason to talk to her."

Soda watched his friend, his best buddy. Soda had never seen Steve as happy as he was when he was with Evie. He had also never seen him as upset as he was without her. Suddenly, their relationship was falling apart, after three years. After three, long, happy years it seemed as though everything was coming to an end.

"She still loves you, Steve."

"Really? Wow, cuz' it sure didn't seem like it when she killed our kid."

Soda sighed. "You can't think of it that way, man."

Steve glared. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to think of it then? Huh? I mean, c'mon Soda, that shit ain't even legal. What am I supposed to do? Sit back and smile while she does something like that? No, no way. I'm done."

"You've done plenty of illegal things, Steve."

Steve watched him carefully. "I ain't never killed nobody before."

"It's different-"

"No, it's not. Fuck, she didn't even care what I would've thought, ya' know? I can't- I can't do that."

Soda nodded. "I get it, buddy. Really, I do, but you and Evie had somethin'. You can't just throw it away."

Steve slowly shook his head before standing up. "Watch me."

Soda stared at him as he quickly left.

* * *

Steve stared at the small necklace in his hand, the same necklace he had given to Evie. He found it in his locker earlier that day. A small note had been attached to it.

Evie had not been at school for a few weeks. Steve would be lying if he would have said he thought it wasn't because of him.

She had been hurt. He had been hurt. They were both hurt.

It had been a long time since he smelled the strawberries or tasted her soft red lips. He stared silently at the note. There wasn't much to it and he felt something cold inside of him because of that. A longer note would have been nice. He knew she had said all she need to, though.

His hands shook quietly and he could feel his throat tighten. He wouldn't cry, though. That wouldn't be fair to himself. She didn't deserve his tears.

_Steve,_

_I'm sorry. I love you. This was all my fault. You were right. I'm leaving. I told you about my aunt in Texas? Yeah, well, I'm gonna be living with her for a while. I think it's for the best, Steve. You don't deserve me. I'm sorry, Stevie. I love you._

Although, he'd never admit to it, the tears slowly rolled down his cheeks. She was gone. He said he didn't want her, but just about everyone- including himself somewhere deep down- knew that he was lying.

He crumpled the note up in his hand and hit his locker with his fist as hard as he could; thankful that no one else was roaming the hallways in the middle of eighth period.

Steve wanted to scream right then, but instead he carefully placed the necklace in his pocket and quietly left the school.

_I lose my self in all these fights, and lose my sense of wrong and right. I cry, I cry. Shaking from the pain that's in my head, I just wanna crawl into my bed and throw away the life I led, but I won't let it die. I won't let it die. But it's over…It's over. Why is it over? We had the chance to make it. Now, it's over. It's over. It can't be over. I wish that I could take it back._

* * *

**Review pleeeeease! Let me know what you think. Now, I have two reports, a power point and an essay to finish. And I think it's best if I get started on that. Thanks for reading!**


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